1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to campers for pick-up trucks and more particularly, to a folding camper for pick-up trucks, which folding camper is characterized by a base frame designed to fit in the bed of a pick-up truck, a pair of folding roof panels hinged to the sides of the base frame and adapted to fold inwardly when in transport mode and deploy upwardly as an A-frame when in functional mode. Companion front and rear end panels are hingedly attached to the front and rear edges of the base frame, respectively, and are designed to close the A-frame structure created by the upward-standing roof panels when the folding camper is deployed in functional configuration. In a preferred embodiment, a window is provided in the front panel and an upper door is located in the back panel for matching a corresponding lower door fitted in the rear panel of the base frame, to facilitate access to the folding camper interior.
Camping has long been a popular pastime, not only in this country but in other countries of the world. Many campers enjoy the use of portable tents which may be easily carried to and from the campsite and set up to protect the occupants during inclement weather. Other campers prefer the popular aluminum camper shell which is designed to fit in the bed of a pick-up truck and is provided with a door and windows. Such campers are typically removed from the bed of the pick-up truck and stored when not in use, but may be left on the pick-up truck for any desired period of time.
Typical of the campers which are known in the prior art are those detailed in the following patents, copies of which are provided: The first of these is the "Semi-Collapsible Camping Shelter" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,238, dated Apr. 9, 1957 to E. L. Baird. The camping shelter detailed in this patent is designed to fit in the bed of a pick-up truck and includes opposed, fixed upright end walls, one of which end walls features a door substantially coextensively vertically with the wall. Fixed lower side walls connect the end walls in spaced relationship and upper side walls are hinged to the lower side walls for outwardly-swinging movement between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position. Vertical guide members are carried by the end walls and a roof is provided with fixed depending posts connected to the guide members for vertical sliding movement. Fixed, depending end walls are telescopically arranged with respect to the end walls to substantially cover the upper door section when in a lowered telescoped position. The shelter unit further includes a mechanism interconnecting the upper side walls with the roof, such that movement of the upper side walls into an open horizontal position will raise the roof and telescope the roof end walls upwardly with respect to the end walls. U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,199, dated Jan. 2, 1973, to Norman J. Throssell details a "Collapsible Shelter Unit". The collapsible shelter unit detailed in this patent is also designed to fit in the bed of a pick-up truck and can be unfolded and erected to form a relatively roomy structure which may be used as a tent, or in combination with a pick-up truck, as a camper. The collapsible shelter unit includes a box-like structure having side and end walls to which other panels are hinged, so that the panels can be swung out to form horizontal bedding support shelves projecting laterally from the side walls and upstanding extensions to the end walls. The upstanding end wall extensions are further provided with side wings hinged to the outer side edges thereof and these wings swing out to form end walls for the bedding support shelves. The sides and ends lock together to form a relatively rigid enclosure covered by a fabric top. The fabric top is attached along its side edges to the side panels and its end edges overhang the top edges of the end panels and are drawn down to a snug fit by means of purse strings provided in the fabric. A door is hinged to one of the end walls to permit entry. The unit can be collapsed and folded in on itself to form a compact fully enclosed, weather-tight box. U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,207, dated Feb. 5, 1974, to Dennis Anderson, discloses "Combination Roof and Side Wall Extensions for Vehicular Hauling Beds". The patent details a collapsible vehicle hauling bed construction wherein a pair of panels are respectively hinged along parallel axes to two opposed side walls of a rectangular truck bed and are designed to swing inwardly to inclined abutting positions to form an inverted U-shaped roof. The panels are also designed to swing outwardly to upright positions to form extensions of the opposed side walls. A third panel is hinged along the third axis normal to at least one of the first named axes, the third panel adapted to rotate between a collapsed position beneath the abutting roof panels in an upright position, forming an extension of one of the remaining bed side walls. The collapsible vehicle hauling bed further includes a mechanism for releasably connecting the upright third panel between the upright pair of panels to form a continuous wall extension for three side walls of the hauling bed. A Folding Camper is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,974, dated July 16, 1974, to LeRoy K. Patnode. The folding camper detailed in this patent is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle such as a pick-up truck and includes a rectangular frame having two sides, a front and a back and a roof supported on the frame. Opposite side panels enclose a space beneath the roof when the roof is elevated by means of an L-shaped bell crank mechanism.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved folding camper for pick-up trucks which is characterized by a base frame adapted to fit in the bed of a pick-up truck, a pair of roof panels hinged to the sides of the base frame for inward folding against each other on the base frame when in transportation mode and pivoting into upward-standing A-frame configuration when in functional mode, and front and end panels hinged to the front and rear edges of the base frame, respectively, which end panels are adapted to fold inwardly upon each other beneath the roof panels when in transportation mode and pivot upwardly to close the area beneath the roof panels when in functional mode.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved, weather-tight, A-frame folding camper for pick-up trucks, which includes a base frame shaped to removably fit in the bed of a pick-up truck, a pair of roof panels hinged to the sides of the base frame and front and rear panels hinged to the ends of the base frame, respectively, wherein the end panels and roof panels are designed to fold inwardly on the base frame in stacked relationship when in transportation mode and to be deployed upwardly in A-frame configuration when assembled in deployed mode.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved folding camper for mounting in the bed of a pick-up truck, which folding camper is characterized by a rectangular-shaped base frame adapted to mount in the bed of a pick-up truck, a pair of generally triangular-shaped front and rear panels hinged to the front and rear edges of the base frame and provided with a window and door, respectively, and roof panels hinged to the sides of the base frame and fitted with weather flashing, wherein the front and rear panels and roof panels are designed to fold inwardly in sequential, stacked relationship against the base frame when the folding camper is in transportation mode and to pivot upwardly to define a weather-sealed A-frame configuration when the folding camper is in functional, deployed configuration.